Wayland Kentucky Steele Creek Near Prestonsburg Home Of Elk Horn Mine Real Photo Postcard
Wayland, Kentucky, particularly the Steele Creek area, was established as a quintessential Appalachian coal company town in the early 20th century. Built and operated primarily by the Consolidation Coal Company, beginning around 1912-1913, these communities provided housing, stores, and all necessary services for miners and their families, ensuring a stable workforce for the burgeoning coal industry in Floyd County.
Such company towns were central to the coal boom in Eastern Kentucky, embodying a paternalistic system where employers exerted extensive control over their workers' lives. The rows of uniform housing seen here are characteristic of this industrial model, designed for efficiency and to attract and retain labor in often remote mountain regions, thus profoundly shaping the economic and social landscape of the area for decades.
Such company towns were central to the coal boom in Eastern Kentucky, embodying a paternalistic system where employers exerted extensive control over their workers' lives. The rows of uniform housing seen here are characteristic of this industrial model, designed for efficiency and to attract and retain labor in often remote mountain regions, thus profoundly shaping the economic and social landscape of the area for decades.
